Once a dominating force in America, the middle class is now broken and seeking recovery from where ever they can receive it.

Who is the Middle Class?

Many people in America know what the middle class is. Or they think they know what it is. Most people in America considered themselves to be middle class Americans.The actual definition of the middle class needs to be defined.There are many different elements that come with the middle class, such as racial makeup, economics and social beliefs. In this piece, it will discuss the textbook definition of middle class, the economic structure of the middle class.

One man on the ferry looks on viewing the upcoming the Statue of Liberty. This man is one of many Americans who identifies themselves as being “middle class”.

According to the Merriam- Webster dictionary, the actual definition of the middle class is “a class occupying a position between the upper class and the lower class, especially: a fluid heterogeneous socioeconomic grouping composed principally of business and professional people, bureaucrats, and some farmers and skilled workers sharing common social characteristics and values”. To put this in simpler terms, it’s a group of people who have blue collar jobs and the typical American life.

Many believe that the statue of liberty is the universal symbol in America for freedom. Many in America believe that true freedom is achieving what people know as the “American Dream”.

Many like to believe that the Middle Class is living out the so called “American Dream”. The American Dream dates all the way back to days of the first immigrants arriving to Ellis Island. The American Dream is the belief that all Americans have the opportunity to a good paying job with benefits, a good education and the chance to provide for a family. Middle Class Americans tend to have the typical American family, 2.5 kids, white picket fence and a nice puppy. Middle class Americans have jobs that typically give benefits (dental and medical benefits that is). The middle class can be divided into two sections, and they are the upper and low. The obvious difference between the two divisions has to do with the economics, meaning which jobs tend to pay more. However the types of jobs that can be categorized into each division range from any to a professional job like a teacher to an unskilled job such as a factory worker. People in the Upper middle class typically have a college education backed up with a bachelor’s degree giving them professional jobs. Lower middle class don’t have as much additional education after receiving a high school diploma and their jobs are considered “blue collar” and “unskilled”, meaning educational training isn’t required. Both divisions have jobs that should typically receive benefits but they gap between the upper and lower middle class is continuing to grow. This is an issue that is starting to lead to the decline of the middle class due to a loss of a “happy medium.”

The most important definition regarding the middle class is the economic breakdown of the middle class. It is used to be that middle class ranged anywhere from $30, 000 to $100,000. Now people think that it ranges all the way up to $250,000. However a recent study through CBS states that the median income for someone in the Middle Class is around $50,000. The different incomes range differently with the different regions of the United States. As you can that number is significantly lower than what most Americans tend to believe the middle class. Numbers are changing due to major job loss, pay cuts and redefining our social classes. The fact that we once considered $100,000 to be a part of the middle class totally how much our country’s structure has changed. Today, someone with a salary of $100,000 or higher is now considered upper class.

The truth of the matter is that the standard definition of the middle class is never going to change. It’s always going to be made up of professional or unskilled workers who have to work in order to support a family. However, the economic makeup of the middle class is always changing. In facts , many economists believe that we are in fear of the losing the middle class. Too many people are losing their jobs and becoming parts of the low class. On the other end of this, many Americans are receiving degrees and seeking professionals job that pay salaries that are now considered upper class. The working class is slowly dying. Join me in figuring out what factors have contributed to the fall of the middle class.